In the present methods of attaching a flexible coaxial electrical cable to a connector to terminate the cable, the same basic steps are usually followed. The connector component to be attached is held in position relative to the cable by a holding fixture or mechanism and heat is applied to the components to bring the system up to soldering temperature by a method, such as resistance or induction heating. Solder is then added to fill the gap between the connector component and the cable. The solder can be added through a drilled hole in the connector component at some distance from the edge of the interface or at the edge of the interface.
There are some disadvantages to these methods, however, such as the difficulty of heating all component parts evenly to temperature and maintaining that temperature long enough to complete soldering. The usual manual soldering operation involves the operator watching the flow of solder between the components visually to maintain temperature regulation. Too much heat can burn a part or shrink dielectric insulation and too little heat can result in voids and a poor solder fillet at the interface. The time for hand soldering can be lengthy for good process control and joint quality. Such methods are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,665,367 to Keller, et al.
Similar methods are used with larger materials, such as pipe joints, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,0947,495 issued to Robinson et al. Some of the above problems were overcome by dipping the parts to be soldered in a solder bath, as was used by Greever, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,760,481 for joining pieces of metal tubing with zinc solder to form a heat exchanger.